System and method for in-vehicle operator training

ABSTRACT

An on-vehicle system for assessing an operator&#39;s efficiency of a vehicle, include sensors, an audiovisual display device, a processor and a data storage. The sensors measure or detect conditions of components of the vehicle, and convert the detected conditions into analog or digital information. The data storage stores program instructions, the analog or digital information from the sensors, and other data. The program instructions, when executed by the processor, control the on-vehicle system to determine a state of the vehicle within a vehicle&#39;s environment based on the analog or digital information from the sensors, determine whether one or more of a predetermined set of behaviors has occurred based on the determined state of a vehicle, assess performance of the determined one or more of the predetermined set of behaviors, and present the operator, via the audiovisual display device, a feedback based on the assessment.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This disclosure claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/446,778 filed Feb. 25, 2011, the content of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In addition, U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/446,778 is related to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/420556, titled System and Method for Measuringand Reducing Vehicle Fuel Waste, filed on Dec. 7, 2010. The entirecontent of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/420556 is alsoincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

This invention relates to improving the performance of vehicleoperators.

BACKGROUND

Research and development toward improving fuel efficiency of vehicleshas focused on vehicle components and systems. While operatorperformance might have a profound effect on a vehicle's fuel efficiency,little emphasis has been placed on improving operator skills This is duein part to the complexity of human behavior, vehicles, loads, andenvironmental conditions.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods disclosed herein assess the behaviors of an operatorof a vehicle and dynamically adapt operator coaching to reduce fuel use,reduce vehicle maintenance cost and unsafe maneuvers. Exemplaryembodiments constantly monitor the operation of a vehicle to providereal-time assessments of the operator based on the operator'sperformance, the vehicle' state, the vehicle's load and the environmentin which the vehicle is operating. The assessments are used to providein-vehicle coaching to the operator that is dynamically customized tothe operator based on the vehicle's situation at that instant of time.The systems and methods according to exemplary embodiments describedbelow assist operators to save fuel, reduce wear-and tear on thevehicle, and improve the safety of the operation of the vehicle. Inaddition, systems and methods according to exemplary embodiments can beused to monitor operator's compliance with regulations, e.g., federalregulations and company regulations. The federal regulations may includeHours of Service, Drive Time, Speed, Rest Periods and On Duty Times. Thecompany regulations may include speed threshold, company PTO (paid timeoff) limits and company idling thresholds.

Some embodiments provide a method that includes determining the state ofthe vehicle within the vehicle's environment and determining whether oneor more of a predetermined set of behaviors has occurred based on thecurrent state of a vehicle, assessing the performance of the determinedbehavior, comparing the assessed performance to historical performanceinformation of the operator, modifying an operator feedback thresholdbased on the result of the comparison, and presenting the operatorfeedback based on the feedback threshold.

Other embodiments provide a computer-readable storage medium havingprogram instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor,cause a system to determine the state of the vehicle within thevehicle's environment; determine whether one or more of a predeterminedset of behaviors has occurred based on the current state of a vehicle,assess the performance of the determined behavior, compare the assessedperformance to historical performance information of the operator,modify an operator feedback threshold based on the result of thecomparison, and present the operator feedback based on the adjustedfeedback threshold.

Other embodiments provide an on-vehicle system including a sensor, anaudiovisual display device, a processor and a data storage devicestoring program instructions and data. The program instructions, whenexecuted by the processor, control the system to determine the state ofthe vehicle within the vehicle's environment; determine whether one ormore of a predetermined set of behaviors has occurred based on thecurrent state of a vehicle, assess the performance of the determinedbehavior, compare the assessed performance to historical performanceinformation of the operator, modify an operator feedback threshold basedon the result of the comparison, and present the operator feedback basedon the adjusted feedback threshold.

In some of these embodiments, the predetermined set of behaviorsincludes running auxiliary equipment, excessive idle, progressiveshifting, speeding, hard-braking, hard-acceleration and unsafe maneuver.

In some of these embodiments, the operator feedback threshold isincrementally changed based on the desired performance threshold for thebehavior. The incremental change may be determined dynamically or basedon a predetermined regimen.

In some of these embodiments, operator feedback is provided based on thesituation at the current instant of time.

In some of these embodiments, the assessment and operator cueing may beperformed substantially in real-time.

In some of these embodiments, the assessment of the behavior may benormalized based on vehicle's load, route, terrain and/or profile type.

In some of these embodiments, information related to the operatorassessment is provided to a supervisor and/or a back-office system foruse in tracking operator performance, providing training and/orreconfiguring the vehicle.

In some embodiments, alerts are sent to a supervisor when an operatorrepeatedly fails to comply with cueing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system;

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of the exemplary system;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary coaching process;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for determiningoptimal behavior information; and

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate exemplary vehicle information associating avehicle speed with engine speed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein provide a system and a methodthat assesses the driving behaviors of an operator of a vehicle anddynamically adapts in-vehicle coaching to reduce fuel use, maintenancecost and unsafe maneuvers. The vehicle may be any type of transporthaving an operator (e.g., a driver or a pilot). The vehicle may be, forexample, a ground vehicle, watercraft, aircraft or spacecraft that isused to transport passengers, mail and/or freight. The operator is anindividual that controls the vehicle over an assessment period. In someembodiments, the assessment period may occur over part or all of asortie. In terms of this disclosure a “sortie” is the period between thestart of a trip at an origin location and the end of the trip at adestination location by a particular vehicle. The specific start and endof the sortie during the trip may be established based on time,distance, fuel use, etc.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary vehicle in whichembodiments consistent with the present disclosure may be implemented.The vehicle may include operator controls 160, a drive train 170, sensordevices including e.g., the control input sensors 150 and load sensors156, an audiovisual device 130 and a communication device 140.

The operator controls 160 are any components of the vehicle that receivecontrol inputs from the operator, such as, steering inputs (e.g.,steering wheel, stick, yoke), braking inputs, trim inputs, throttleinputs and transmission inputs (e.g. gear selection). The drive train170 includes vehicle components that transform fuel into kinetic energyto propel the vehicle. The drive train 170 may include an engine 172, atransmission 174 and a final drive 176 (e.g., drive wheels, continuoustracks, propeller, etc.). Sensors are devices that measure or detectreal-world conditions and convert the detected conditions into analogand/or digital information that may be stored, retrieved and processed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle's sensors include control input sensors150, vehicle position/motion sensors 152, drive train sensors 154, loadsensors 156 and environment sensors 158. The control input sensors 150detect and/or measure changes in the state of the control input devices.The vehicle motion/position sensors 152 detect and/or measure thevehicle's position, orientation, velocity, acceleration and changes inthe state thereof. The drive train sensors 154 include devices thatdetermine operating parameters of the engine and transmission. Forexample, the drive train sensors 154 may detect engine speed (e.g.,RPM), engine power, torque, air flow, fuel flow and temperatures. Theload sensors 156 are devices that determine or receive information ofthe weight and/or position of vehicle's current load. The loadinformation can also include devices that determine tire pressure andtemperature. The environment sensors 158 are one or more devices thatdetect or receive information of the environmental conditions in whichthe vehicle is operating. Conditions may include temperature, humidity,barometric pressure, precipitation, wind speed, wind direction. Theoperating parameters may include gear selections, and a rear end ratio.A rear-end ratio set on vehicles (e.g., trucks) can be changed for load.For example, for a heavier load, the rear end ratio should be set lower.When the transmission cannot the changed, the rear end ratio can bechanged according to load.

The motion/position sensors 152 may include accelerometers that measureacceleration (translational or angular) and from which its speed andposition in any dimension (linear and angular) can be derived. Some orall of the motion/position sensors 152 may be provided by an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU), which is an electronic device that measures andreports on a vehicle's velocity, orientation and gravitational forces,using a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes without the needfor external references. Additionally, the motion/position sensors 152may be provided by a global positioning system (GPS) navigation device.GPS devices provide latitude, longitude information, altitude anddirectional velocity information. The vehicle may also include speedsensors that detect the speed of the vehicle. Based on the speed, thesensor may also detect the distance traveled by the vehicle (e.g.,odometer). Additionally or alternatively, wheel speed sensors may belocated on the wheels, the vehicle's differential, or a pitot tube maymeasure the velocity of air with respect to the motion of the vehicle.

The audiovisual device 130 generates visual and aural cues that presentthe operator with feedback and coaching. The audiovisual device 130 mayinclude a video display, such as a liquid crystal display, plasmadisplay, cathode ray tube, and the like. The audiovisual device 130 mayinclude an audio transducer, such as a speaker. Furthermore, theaudiovisual display may include one or more operator-input devices, suchas bezel keys, a touch screen display, a mouse, a keyboard and/or amicrophone for a voice-recognition unit. Using the audiovisual device130, information obtained from the vehicle's sensors may be used toprovide feedback to the operator indicating driving actions that shouldhave been taken. The audiovisual device 130 also presents dynamicallygenerated reports of sensor and/or coaching information to the operator.

The communication device 140 sends and/or receives information from thevehicle over one or more communication channels to other vehicles, aremote supervisor, and/or a remote server (not shown). The communicationdevice 140 may provide, for example, information collected by thesensors and reports generated by the fuel tracking system describingfuel use, fuel wasted, operator performance and vehicle performance to aback-office server (not shown).

The communication device 140 may use wired, fixed wireless, or mobilewireless information networks that communicate by a variety ofprotocols. The networks may comprise any wireless network, wirelinenetwork or a combination of wireless and wireline networks capable ofsupporting communication by the vehicle using ground-based and/orspace-based components. The network can be, for instance, an ad-hocwireless communications network, a data network, a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), an integrated services digital network (ISDN),a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitanarea network (MAN), all or a portion of the Internet, and/or othercommunication systems or combination of communication systems at one ormore locations. The network can also be connected to another network,contain one or more other sub-networks, and/or be a sub-network withinanother network.

The controller 110 may be one or more devices that exchange informationwith the sensors, the memory device 140, the data storage device 120,the audiovisual device 130 and/or the communication device 140. Thecontroller 110 includes a processor and a memory device 140. Theprocessor may be a general-purpose processor (e.g., INTEL or IBM), or aspecialized, embedded processor (e.g., ARM). The memory device 140 maybe a random access memory (“RAM”), a read-only memory (“ROM”), a FLASHmemory, or the like. Although the memory device 140 is depicted as asingle medium, the device may comprise additional storage media devices.In some embodiments, the controller 110 is a stand-alone system thatfunctions in parallel with other information processing devices (e.g., amission computer, engine control unit or cockpit information unit)operating on the vehicle. In other embodiments, the functions of thecontroller 110 may be incorporated within one or more other informationprocessing devices on the vehicle.

The controller 110 processes information received from the sensors todetermine the occurrence of predetermined behaviors, and providesadaptive coaching to the operator using the audiovisual device 130. Inaddition, the controller 110 provides reports to the operator via theaudiovisual device 130, or the operator's supervisor or a back-officeserver via the communication device 140.

The data storage device 120 may be one or more devices that store andretrieve information, including computer-readable program instructionsand data. The data storage device 120 may be, for instance, asemiconductor, a magnetic or an optical-based informationstorage/retrieval device (e.g., flash memory, hard disk drive, CD-ROM,or flash RAM).

The controller 110 interface device may be one or more devices forexchanging information between the host and the devices on the vehicle.The controller interface device 180 may include devices operable toperform analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion,filtering, switching, relaying, amplification and/or attenuation.Furthermore, the controller interface device 180 may store the receivedinformation for access by the processor. In some embodiments, the datainterface includes a diagnostic data port, such as a J1708, J1939 and/orOBDII bus interfaces as described in the Society of Automotive EngineersSAE International Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice.

The program instructions executed by the controller 110 may be recordedon the data storage device 120 and/or the memory device 140. As shown inFIG. 1, the instructions include a recording module 115, a behaviormodule 116, a coaching module 117 and a reporting module 118. Therecording module 115 configures the controller 110 to obtain and storeinformation provided by the sensors. The behavior module 116 configuresthe controller 110 to receive information provided by the recordingmodule 115 and determine whether one or more predetermined behaviorshave occurred. In order to determine whether one or more predeterminedbehaviors have occurred, the behavior module 116 compares the currentpractice of the operator with best practices for given circumstances.The coaching module 117 configures the controller 110 to assess thedetermined behaviors, adjust cueing thresholds and generate operatorfeedback using the audiovisual device 130. The reporting module mayconfigure the controller 110 to generate documents including informationfrom the recording module 115, the behavior module 116 and the coachingmodule 117. The generated documents may be stored in the data storagedevice 120.

The behavior module 116 may identify both positive and negativebehaviors. Positive behaviors (e.g., successful progressive shifting)may cause the coaching and reporting modules to generate reward-orientedevents, including positive operator cues, assessments and indicators ofadvancement (e.g., rankings, promotions, rewards). The negative (i.e.,wasteful or dangerous) behaviors may cause the coaching and reportingmodules to generate detrimental events, such as negative operator cues,assessments and indicators of deficiency (e.g., lower rankings,demotions, disincentives).

The data storage device 120 stores information referenced by the programmodules, including vehicle information 121, operator information, sortieinformation 122 and behavior information 123. The vehicle information121 describes the configuration of the vehicle, its predeterminedthresholds and operating strategies. For instance, the vehicleinformation 121 may include a vehicle identifier, a vehicle type, amake, a model, vehicle options, vehicle age, defects and maintenancehistory. In addition, the vehicle information 121 may store informationabout the drivetrain, including: engine type, size, power, power curve,recommended/ideal idle speed, threshold speeds, optimal engine speed forthe gears in the transmission and/or a map of the recommended/idealshift patterns for the transmission. Furthermore, the vehicleinformation 121 includes information defining how the vehicle should beoperated in different situations (e.g., rules and information definingdifferent shift strategies).

The sortie information 122 describes a sortie during which the operatoris assessed and coached. The sortie profile information may include asortie type, a sortie description and a load description. In addition,the sortie information 122 may identify the sortie's predeterminedlimitations such as the maximum allowed speed, maximum distance, maximumtime, maximum number of stops and maximum load weight. The sortiedescription may also include a predefined route, waypoints, schedules,maximum speeds and loads for the sortie.

Based on the vehicle information 121 and sortie information 122,operator assessments of can be normalized to enhance the comparabilityof the result. For instance, assessments of different operators can benormalized for comparison based on the vehicle type, route type and/oroperating conditions for comparison to other operators.

The behavior information 123 includes parameters that determine whetherthe operator has performed one of the predetermined behaviors. Thebehavior information 123 may store information against which thebehavior module 116 compare sensor information captured by the recordingmodule 115, including thresholds, datasets, multidimensional databasesand algorithms. For instance, the behavior module 116 may determine thata behavior has occurred when the magnitude and duration of anaccelerometer output corresponds to a range included in a lookup table.

Coaching information is information stored in the data storage device120 for reference by the coaching module 117 when assessing anoperator's determined behaviors. The coaching information may alsoinclude thresholds, datasets, multidimensional databases, and algorithmsdefining desired and/or optimal behaviors (e.g., fuel, safety andregulatory compliance). For example, the coaching information mayinclude engine speed thresholds corresponding to desired transmissiongear-changes. Operator assessment scores and cueing thresholds may bedetermined based on the difference between the engine speed of theoperator's gear-change and the desired engine speed thresholds storedwith the coaching information.

The data storage device 120 may store logs of information generatedduring the sortie, including a sensor log 124 and a coaching log 125.The sensor log 124 may record information provided by the sensors inassociation with a corresponding time frame. The time frame can be tiedback to a location and the circumstances surrounding an event (e.g.,fast steering to go around a tight curve). The sensor information may,together, define the state of the driver, the vehicle, the load and theenvironment within a particular time frame. A time frame is a block oftime that is one of a series that span the duration of the sortie. Thelength of the time and the rate at which the time frames are recordedmay be chosen to provide different levels of detail regarding theoperator's behaviors. The time frame may be, for example, 1/60th ofsecond, one-second, ten-seconds, etc.

The coaching log 125 is a record of the operator's behaviors thatoccurred during a sortie. As described below, the behavior module 116determines whether predetermined behaviors have occurred. The determinedbehaviors may be stored in the coaching log 125 along with associatedinformation, such as the corresponding sensor information, operatorassessment (e.g., a score or rating) and an associated cost of thebehavior, such as fuel-wasted. The fuel wasted may be determined basedon categorizing the fuel used as described in related U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/420556. For instance, with regard to ahard-acceleration behavior, the coaching log 125 may include recordsdescribing past occurrences of hard-braking, including the time of theevent, an assessment of the event (e.g., rating, score) and/orassociated sensor information (RPM, gear, acceleration, velocity andduration).

The operator is assessed based on the operator's actual behavior atwithin a time frame when compared with a desired behavior determined forthat time frame. The desired behavior is determined by the system basedon the current situation, including the driver's behavior, the state ofthe vehicle, the vehicle's load and the environmental conditions. Theoperator assessment for a particular time frame may be directlycorrelated to a cost savings. For example, an assessment for a timeframe may be 3.5 points out of a possible 4.8 points. The difference,1.3 points, may be correlated to a fuel savings. Alternatively oradditionally, an operators assessment may be based a number of eventswithin a window. For example, the number of hard-braking events withinan hour or within a mile of travel.

The information in the sensor log 124 and the coaching log 125 may beretrieved by the coaching module 117 to dynamically determine positiveand negative events, and to generate reports of an operator'sperformance during a sortie. For example, automatically or on request,the coaching module 117 may retrieve one or more datasets from the logsfor presentation to the operator on the audiovisual device 130 or fortransmission to a remote supervisor.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary functional block diagram illustratingrelationships between the elements of the vehicle illustrated in FIG. 1.The recording module 115, when executed by the processor, causes thecontroller 110 to obtain information from the vehicle's sensors 210. Thesensors 201 may include control input sensors 150, vehiclemotion/position sensors 152, drive train sensors 154, load sensors 156and environment sensors 158. As described above, the sensor informationmay be recorded over a number of time frames and each record may beidentified to a corresponding one of the time frames.

The behavior module 116 causes the controller 110 to obtain sensorinformation and determine whether one or more of a number ofpredetermined behaviors has occurred or is occurring. The sensorinformation may include information of the following: the control inputstates (e.g., steering, braking and throttle), the vehicle state (e.g.,positions, velocities and accelerations) and the drive train state(e.g., engine speed, gear, fuel flow and air flow). The behaviordetermination may be based on behavior information 123 stored in thedata storage, which may include algorithms, datasets (e.g., look-uptables) and thresholds. For instance, when the sensor informationindicates that the vehicle has exceeded a predetermined accelerationvalue stored in the behavior information 123 for more than apredetermined number of time frames, the behavior module 116 maydetermine that the operator has caused an excessive acceleration tooccur.

The coaching module 117 causes the controller 110 to assess theoperator's behaviors and to dynamically adjust thresholds that are usedto provide positive and negative feedback to the operator. The coachingmodule 117 may assess the detected behaviors based on the coachinginformation describing desired behavior parameters. An assessment of aparticular behavior may be used to generate a score for the behaviorand/or to modify an overall operator's score for a sortie. For instance,the coaching module 117 may generate a shift score that is calculatedand displayed to the operator by the audiovisual device 130 and/ortransmitted to the operator's supervisor via the communication device140. In some cases, the behavior information 123 and/or the sortieinformation 122 may be used to normalize the operator assessment forcomparison to other operators in a group (e.g., a fleet).

Using the assessment, the coaching module 117 may dynamically adjustparameters for determining behaviors, providing audiovisual cueing andallocating positive/negative results for a particular operator. In someembodiments, the coaching module 117 determines whether to adjust theparameters based on a comparison of the operator's detected behaviorswith one or more previous behaviors of the same type. The comparison maybe made using the determined behavior's corresponding sensor informationor score. If the comparison shows the operator's behavior hassufficiently improved over time and/or a number of occurrences, thecoaching module 117 may incrementally modify the operator'scorresponding parameters for providing cueing or generatingpositive/negative events. The incremental changes may be predetermined,based on a predetermined training regime, or dynamically based on theassessment,

For example, in the case of a hard-braking behavior, if the operatorsuccessfully performs the behavior five successive times withouttriggering a hard-braking warning by the coaching module 117, thecoaching module 117 may modify the operator's thresholds such that thewarning is generated at a lower deceleration rate. In addition, if thecoaching module 117 determines that the operator successfully performedfive braking behaviors sequentially, the coaching module 117 may modifythe operator's corresponding parameters such that ten braking arerequired to generate a subsequent positive event.

The reporting module may cause the controller 110 to obtain informationfrom the sensor log 124 and the coaching module 117 to generate a reportof the vehicle's and the operator's performance during the sortie. Thereporting module may dynamically generate information for presentingsensor, behavior and coaching information to the operator via theaudiovisual device 130. The reporting module may also generate reportsincluding some or all of this information and provide the reports to theoperator's supervisor and/or a back office server via the communicationdevice 140.

The components of the vehicle illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 areexemplary. Vehicles and systems consistent with this disclosure are notlimited to the components and arrangements shown. Components may beadded, removed, combined and/or rearranged without departing from thescope of the functions disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for providingadaptive operator assessment and coaching. The recording module 115determines the vehicle's state based on information from the sensors.(Step 300) The vehicle's state may include the following information:power state (e.g., engine on/idle/off, air conditioning unit on/off,refrigeration unit on/off and auxiliary equipment on/off), control inputstate (e.g., throttle position, transmission selection, steeringposition and braking position), position/velocity state (e.g.,moving/stationary, position, velocity, acceleration, pitch, yaw,altitude), drive train state (e.g. engine speed, wheel speed, fuel flowrate and air flow), load state (e.g., weight) and environmental states(e.g., temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, wind direction andprecipitation).

Based on the sensor information, the vehicle information 121 and thesortie information 122, the behavior module 116 determines desiredbehavior information 123. (Step 302) The desired behavior information123 may include the behavior module's 116 determination of the mostfuel-efficient behavior for the vehicle's sensors at the current timeframe given the sensor information, the vehicle information 121 and thesortie information 122. For example, if the vehicle is stationary, themost fuel-efficient behavior for the vehicle may be to have the engineidle below a predetermined threshold speed. If the vehicle is cruisingat a substantially steady speed, the most fuel efficient behavior may beto have the vehicle's transmission set at a gear that provides lowestamount of power required to sustain the current speed. The desiredoptimal behavior determination may be made in real-time or in nearreal-time. For example, the determination of an optimal behavior for aparticular time frame may be determined and as sensor information isreceived.

In addition, the behavior module 116 determines whether one or more ofthe predetermined behavior categories has occurred and/or is occurring.(Step 304) The behavior categories include one or more undesired ordesired behaviors that is tracked, assessed and reported by the system.The occurrence of a particular behavior category may be determined whenthe determined state of the vehicle in one or more time frames satisfiesthe parameters of the behavior. Behavior determination may occur inreal-time or in near real-time such that the behaviors are identifiedand assessed as they occur. In addition, the behavior module 116 maypredict operator behaviors, for example, based on the conditions of thevehicle. Furthermore, once a behavior category is detected, the behaviormodule 116 may interpret the behavior category to be ongoing so long asthe sensor information in a substantially unbroken series of time framessatisfies the behavior's parameters.

The predetermined behavior categories may include the following: runningauxiliary equipment, excessive idle, progressive shifting, speeding,hard-braking, hard-acceleration and unsafe maneuver. Unsafe maneuver mayinclude cornering too fast, following too close, and changing lanes tooquickly. The parameters describing these behaviors may be stored, forexample, as behavior information 123 in the data storage device 120.

“High-idle” occurs when in the vehicle is stationary (e.g., based onGPS, speed, INS) and the engine speed is above a predeterminedthreshold, such as the high-idle threshold 530 (e.g., 800 RPM)illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B. “Running auxiliary equipment” refers torunning auxiliary equipment, e.g., A/C, of the vehicle. “High-idle” and“Running auxiliary equipment” are often associated with each other.“Excessive idle” occurs when vehicle is stationary, the engine speed isbelow the high-idle threshold (as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B) butthe vehicle has been stationary for a continuous span of time that islonger than an excessive-idle time threshold. “Progressive ShiftingLo/High” are behaviors that occur when the operator selects a newtransmission gear and the engine speed is outside a predeterminedefficient range, such as the peak torque range 525 illustrated in FIGS.5A and 5B. “Excessive speeding” occurs when vehicle's speed exceeds apredetermined top speed threshold, such as the maximum speed thresholdillustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B. “Hard-acceleration” occurs when thevehicle accelerates in its direction of travel at more than apredetermined rate and/or for more than a predetermined period of time.“Hard-braking” occurs when vehicle decelerates in its direction oftravel at more than a predetermined rate and/or for more than apredetermined period of time. An “unsafe maneuver” occurs when thevehicle undergoes accelerations (rotational and/or linear) that departfrom the direction of travel at more than a predetermined rate. Forinstance, where the vehicle is a truck, an unsafe maneuver may be anexcessively fast lane change that causes to truck to acceleratelaterally and/or rotationally at greater than 9.8 meters per second(i.e., 1 G).

The coaching module 117 assesses the operator's performance based on thestate of the vehicle in a time frame, the desired behavior for the timeframe and/or the determined behavior categories determined in the timeframe. (Step 308) The difference between the current state of thevehicle and its desired state can be used to provide one or moremeasures of the operator's performance (e.g., a rating or a score). Forinstance, the coaching module 117 may compare the magnitude and/orduration of a behavior with corresponding desired behavior information123. In one example, the vehicle's acceleration within a time frame maybe measured by an accelerometer. That acceleration of the vehicle may becompared against a desired acceleration defined in by a threshold, arange or a profile. A score may be given to the operator based on thedegree of conformance between the detected acceleration and the desiredacceleration. In another example, the coaching module 117 may determinedifference between the engine speed in the time frame during which agear change is detected and the desired engine speed determined for thegear change based on the vehicle's current situation (e.g., vehiclestate and environmental state). A score may be assigned to the gearchange behavior based on the difference between the detected and thedesired engine speeds, as well as the amount of time the speed is abovethe desired value.

The disclosed embodiments are not limited to the examples above andother methods of scoring are known in the art and the coaching module117 may use any scoring method appropriate to a particular behavior orvehicle mode. Furthermore, the operator's score may be normalized toaccount for difference in the vehicle information 121 and/or sortieinformation 122. For instance, the coaching module 117 may normalize anoperator's score using for the vehicle's load, route, terrain profile,and vehicle information for comparison to other operator havingdifferent vehicles, loads, routes, terrains and/or profile types.

The coaching module 117 compares the behaviors determined by thebehavior module 116 with previous, corresponding behaviors recorded in,for instance, the coaching log 125. (Step 312) The comparison may bebased on the magnitude and/or the duration of the detected behavior.Alternatively or additionally, the comparison may be based on theassessment (e.g., score of the behavior). Using the behaviorcomparisons, the coaching module 117 may modify the cueing thresholdsfor the operator. (Step 316) If the current behavior is not animprovement over one or more previous behaviors, the coaching module 117may leave the cueing threshold for that behavior unchanged. If thecurrent behavior is an improvement over a predetermined number ofprevious, corresponding behaviors, the coaching module 117 may adjustthe cueing threshold closer to the desired behavior value. In this way,the cueing is progressively adapted based on the operator's specificbehaviors towards the desired behaviors.

The coaching module 117 generates cueing on the audiovisual displaydevice(s) using the thresholds determined by the coaching module 117.(Step 320) If it is determined that the cueing is ignored by theoperator, an alert can be generated and sent to a supervisor in a remotelocation. (Steps 322 and 323) Furthermore, the reporting module 118generates reports based on the determinations by the coaching module117. The reports may be one or more documents including some of all ofthe information generated by the recording module 115, determinationmodule and/or coaching module 117. (Step 324) The reporting module mayprovide the report to the operator in the vehicle, a remotely-locatedsupervisor or a back-office server, via the communication device 140.

In one example, the controller 110 may provide the operator with cueingrelated to progressive shifting. The recording module 115 may obtaininformation from the sensors indicating that the vehicle is moving, thatthe operator has selected a new transmission gear and the current enginespeed (e.g., RPM). Based on the sensor information and the storedbehavior information 123, the behavior module 116 may determine that aprogressive shift behavior has occurred. This determination may bestored in the coaching log 125 along with the corresponding sensorinformation.

The coaching module 117 may assess the determined progressive shiftbehavior by comparing the sensor information with correspondinginformation stored in the coaching information describing desired rangesfor progressive shifting recommended to maximize the vehicle's fueleconomy. The coaching module 117 may determine an assessment for thegear shift based on the difference between the engine speed after theoperator's gear selection and the desired engine speed. The coachingmodule 117 may also take into account the number of time frames in whichthe engine speed exceeds the desired value.

The coaching module 117 may then determine whether to adjust theoperator's cueing thresholds based on the desired progressive shiftbehavior value and the operator's previous shift behaviors stored in thecoaching log 125. Using the stored information and/or the assessment,the coaching module 117 may modify, dynamically, an established shiftthreshold for the particular operator. In the event the operator shiftsbelow the determined threshold for either a predetermined number ofshifts/predetermined amount of time, the feedback threshold is changeduntil it reaches the desired speed threshold. The coaching module 117may generate visual and/or aural feedback based on the determinedthreshold. Additionally, the determined score and threshold may beprovided to the reporting module for reporting to the operator, theoperator's supervisor or a back-office.

In another example, the behavior module 116 may determine that ahard-braking behavior has occurred based on sensor informationindicating that the vehicle's brake is applied and/or the rate of thevehicle's deceleration. An assessment of operator's performance (e.g.,score) with regard to the detected behavior may be determined based onthe detected deceleration and coaching information identifying adeceleration threshold limit. Based on the operator's determined score,the operator's threshold value may be dynamically updated. Using theoperator's score and/or the determined threshold, the coaching module117 may provide visual and/or aural feedback to the operator via, forexample, the audiovisual device 130. Likewise, the coaching module 117may generate and/or update reports based on the foregoing information.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for determiningdesired behavior information 123. The behavior module 116 determines thedesired state of the vehicle within a particular time frame based on thestate of the vehicle detected by the sensors and the state of thevehicle's environment. (Step 404) In determining the desired state ofthe vehicle, the behavior module 116 may reference the vehicleinformation 121 and the sortie information 122 stored in the datastorage device 120. According to one example, the behavior module 116determines the desired gear selection for the case where the vehicle iscruising at a substantially consistent speed. The sortie information 122can indicate that the maximum allowed speed at the vehicle's currentlocation is 55 M.P.H. Furthermore, the power curves for the vehicle'sdrive train may indicate that a particular gear (e.g., G8) shouldprovide the greatest fuel efficiency for cruising at the desired speed.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary set of vehicle power curves associatingengine speed and vehicle speed for several gear selections. If the“desired speed” 520 obtained by the behavior module 116 is 55 M.P.H.,FIG. 5A illustrates that four gear selections G5, G6, G7, G8 can powerthe vehicle at the desired speed 520. Based on FIG. 5A, gear selectionsG1, G2, G3, G4 cannot power the vehicle at the desired speed 520. Points505, 510, 515 and 520 indicate the engine speed corresponding to gearselections G5, G6, G7, G8 for cruising at the desired speed 520. Becausethe engine speed for gears G5-G7 is greater than for G8, the fuel flowshould be higher. Accordingly, the behavior module 116 may determinethat gear G8 is the desired gear selection for cruising at the desiredspeed 520.

The behavior module 116 determines modifiers of the desired state basedon the current state of the vehicle and/or the environment. (Step 408)For instance, gear G8 may be the most desirable selection for cruisingunder default conditions. However, if the position/velocity informationindicates that the vehicle is currently headed uphill, the vehicle iscarrying a heavy load and/or the vehicle is headed into a strongheadwind, then additional power may be required to continue cruising atthe given speed (e.g., 55 MPH). Accordingly, the behavior module 116 mayincrease/decrease the desired gear selection to account for theadditional power and/or torque necessary to the maintain the desiredspeed.

Referring back to FIG. 5A, the behavior module 116 may determine theadditional amount of torque is required based on the detected load ofthe vehicle. This determination may be based on algorithms and/orlook-up tables the provide a modifier value (e.g., a multiplier or aaddition) to the torque of provided by the drive train at the defaultgear selection. For instance, for a particular load value, the behaviormodule 116 may determine that an additional ten percent more torque overthat produced by the default gear selection is required to maintain thedesired speed 520. FIG. 5A also illustrates the current speed 535 of thevehicle, and the max speed 535. Based on the vehicle's power curve andgearing information, the behavior module 116 may determine that theadditional torque is provided by selecting gear G7 rather the gear G8.Accordingly, the behavior module 116 may determine that a desiredbehavior for the vehicle's current state is gear G8.

The modified values determined based on the vehicle's situation areidentified as the desired state information for the vehicle. (Step 412)The engine speed and fuel flow corresponding to operating in gear G8 atthe desired speed 520 would, therefore, be identified the modifiedvalues of the desired state for the time frame from which the operator'sdeviations would be measured and assessed for the purposes of coachingand reporting.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example of determining a desired behaviorbased on the vehicle's power curves. According to the example in FIG.5B, the current speed 550 of the vehicle is below the desired speed 520.Thus, the desired behavior would accelerate the vehicle to the desiredspeed 520. For each time frame during the period of acceleration up tothe desired speed 520, the desired behavior information 123 may bedetermined and compared to the actual state of the vehicle.

FIG. 5B illustrates an time frame in which the “current speed” 550 ofthe vehicle may be 35 MPH and the desired speed may be may be 55 MPH.The sensor information for the current vehicle state may indicate thatthe selected gear G7. Thus, in the current instant, the desired behaviorwould be to select an gear for efficiently accelerating the vehicle tothe desired speed. Based on the power map for the drive train stored inthe vehicle information 121, the behavior module 116 may determine thedesired gear selection. As shown in FIG. 5B, in this example, the gearG5 would be the desired gear because it would provide the greatesttorque 525 required for accelerating the vehicle in the currentsituation. Furthermore, because no other gear selection would providegreater torque, the behavior module 116 would not identify a modifierbased on, e.g., the state of the vehicle (e.g., load, pitch) or theenvironment (e.g., headwind).

While the examples illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and discussed aboveare directed to determining desired behaviors for the vehicle's speedbased on the vehicle's current situation, the same or similar methodsmay be applied to various behaviors, such as acceleration, deceleration,braking and other such maneuvers controlled by the operator.Furthermore, these examples describe modifiers that are determined basedon load and winds. However, one or more modifiers can be determinedbased on other vehicle and environmental state information recorded bythe sensors. Some or all of the state information can be weighted and/orcombined to provide a single modifier for the determined desired stateinformation.

As disclosed herein, embodiments and features can be implemented throughcomputer hardware and/or software. Other embodiments of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the embodiments of the invention disclosedherein. Further, the steps of the disclosed methods can be modified inany manner, including by reordering steps and/or inserting or deletingsteps, without departing from the principles of the invention. It istherefore intended that the specification and embodiments be consideredas exemplary only.

1. An on-vehicle system for assessing an operator's efficiency of avehicle, the system comprising: a plurality of sensors configured tomeasure or detect conditions of components of the vehicle, and convertthe detected conditions into analog or digital information; anaudiovisual display device; a processor; and a data storage storingprogram instructions, the analog or digital information from thesensors, and other data; wherein the program instructions, when executedby the processor, control the on-vehicle system to determine a state ofthe vehicle within a vehicle's environment based on the analog ordigital information from the sensors, determine whether one or more of apredetermined set of behaviors has occurred based on the determinedstate of a vehicle, assess performance of the determined one or more ofthe predetermined set of behaviors, and present the operator, via theaudiovisual display device, a feedback based on the assessment.
 2. Theon-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein, the programinstructions, when executed by the processor, control the on-vehiclesystem to compare the assessed performance to historical performanceinformation of the operator, modify an operator feedback threshold basedon the result of the comparison, and present the operator the feedbackat least partly based on the adjusted feedback threshold.
 3. Theon-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined set ofbehaviors includes running auxiliary equipmentle, excessive idle,progressive shifting, speeding, hard-braking, hard-acceleration andunsafe maneuver.
 4. The on-vehicle system according to claim 2, whereinthe operator feedback threshold is incrementally changed based on adesired performance threshold.
 5. The on-vehicle system according toclaim 4, wherein the incremental change is determined dynamically orbased on a predetermined regimen.
 6. The on-vehicle system according toclaim 1, wherein the feedback is provided to the operator based on asituation at the current instant of time.
 7. The on-vehicle systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the assessment is performed substantiallyin real-time.
 8. The on-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein theprogram instructions include a recording module, a behavior module, acoaching module and a reporting module.
 9. The on-vehicle systemaccording to claim 8, wherein the recording module configures thecontroller to obtain and store information provided by the sensors. 10.The on-vehicle system according to claim 9, wherein the behavior moduleconfigures the controller to receive information provided by therecording module and determine whether one or more of the predeterminedset of behaviors has occurred.
 11. The on-vehicle system according toclaim 10, wherein the coaching module configures the controller toassess the determined one or more of the predetermined set of behaviors,adjust cueing thresholds and generate the feedback to the operator usingthe audiovisual device.
 12. The on-vehicle system according to claim 11,wherein the adjusting of the cueing thresholds is performedsubstantially in real-time.
 13. The on-vehicle system according to claim11, wherein the reporting module configures the controller todynamically generate documents based on information from the recordingmodule, the behavior module and the coaching module.
 14. The on-vehiclesystem according to claim 13, wherein the documents generated by thereporting module are stored in the data storage.
 15. The on-vehiclesystem according to claim 1, wherein the assessment of the determinedone or more of the predetermined set of behaviors is normalized based onat least one of a load, a route, a terrain profile and a vehiclespecification.
 16. The on-vehicle system according to claim 1, furthercomprising a communication device, wherein the communication devicetransmits information related to the operator based on the assessment toat least a remote location.
 17. The on-vehicle system according to claim1, wherein operator cueing is included in the feedback provided to theoperator.
 18. The on-vehicle system according to claim 1, furthercomprising a communication device, wherein an alert is sent to a remotelocation by the communication device when the operator repeatedly failsto comply with the operator cueing.
 19. The on-vehicle system accordingto claim 1, wherein the sensors include at least one of control inputsensors, vehicle position sensors, vehicle motion sensors, drive trainsensors, load sensors and environment sensors.
 20. The on-vehicle systemaccording to claim 19, wherein the components of the vehicle includecontrol input devices that receive control inputs from the operator, andthe control input sensors detect or measure changes in the state of thecontrol input devices.
 21. The on-vehicle system according to claim 19,wherein at least one of the vehicle position sensors and the vehiclemotion sensors detects or measures at least one of a position, anorientation, a velocity, an acceleration and changes in the state of thevehicle.
 22. The on-vehicle system according to claim 19, wherein thedrive train sensors include devices that determine operating parametersof an engine and a transmission of the vehicle.
 23. The on-vehiclesystem according to claim 19, wherein the load sensors determine orreceive information of at least one of a weight and a position of acurrent load of the vehicle.
 24. The on-vehicle system according toclaim 23, wherein the information received by the load sensors includeat least one of a tire pressure and a temperature in which the vehicleis operating.
 25. The on-vehicle system according to claim 19, whereinthe environment sensors detect or receive information of environmentalconditions in which the vehicle is operating.
 26. The on-vehicle systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the environmental conditions include atleast one of a temperature, a humidity, a barometric pressure, aprecipitation, a terrain profile, a wind speed and a wind direction. 27.The on-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein the audiovisualdisplay device includes a video display, an audio transducer, and anoperator-input device.
 28. The on-vehicle system according to claim 13,wherein the audiovisual display device displays information based on thedocuments generated by the reporting module.
 29. The on-vehicle systemaccording to claim 16, wherein the communication device uses at leastone of wired, fixed wireless, or mobile wireless information networks tocommunicate with the remote location.
 30. The on-vehicle systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the data storage stores vehicleinformation, operator information and sortie information.
 31. Theon-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein the data storage storesbehavior information including parameters that determine whether theoperator has performed the one or more of the predetermined set ofbehaviors.
 32. The on-vehicle system according to claim 8, wherein thedata storage stores coaching information for reference by the coachingmodule, wherein the coaching information include thresholds, datasets,multidimensional databases, and algorithms defining desired operatorbehaviors.
 33. The on-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein thedata storage stores a sensor log recording information provided by thesensors in association with a corresponding time frame, and a coachinglog recording operator's behaviors that occurred during a sortie. 34.The on-vehicle system according to claim 10, wherein the data storagestores a coaching log recording the determined one or more of thepredetermined set of behaviors by the behavior module.
 35. Theon-vehicle system according to claim 8, wherein the coaching moduleconfigures the controller to retrieve information from a sensor log anda coaching log stored in the data storage, and dynamically determinepositive events and negative events, and generate the feedback to theoperator at least partly based on the determined positive events andnegative events, wherein the sensor log records information provided bythe sensors in association with a corresponding time frame, and whereinthe coaching log records the determined one or more of the predeterminedset of behaviors by the behavior module.
 36. A method for providingadaptive operator assessment and coaching for an operator of a vehicle,the method comprising: determining a state of the vehicle based oninformation from sensors in a time frame; determining desired operatorbehaviors for the time frame based on vehicle information, sortieinformation and the information from sensors; determining whether one ormore of predetermined behavior categories has occurred or is occurring;assessing an operator's performance based on the state of the vehicle inthe time frame, and providing a feedback to the operator of the vehiclebased on the determined one or more of predetermined behavior categoriesand the assessment.
 37. The method according to claim 36, wherein thedetermination of the operator behaviors is real-time.
 38. The methodaccording to claim 36, wherein the determination whether one or more ofpredetermined behavior categories has occurred or is occurring isreal-time.
 39. The method according to claim 36, wherein thepredetermined behavior categories include at least of one of high-idle,excessive idle, progressive shifting, speeding, hard-braking,hard-acceleration and unsafe maneuver.
 40. The method according to claim36, further comprising comparing the operator's performance withhistorical operator's performance.
 41. The method according to claim 36,wherein the feedback provided to the operator includes operator cueing.42. The method according to claim 41, wherein if it is determined thatthe operator cueing is ignored by the operator, an alert is generatedand sent to a remote location.
 43. The method according to claim 40,further comprising: modifying an operator feedback threshold based onthe result of the comparison; and providing the feedback to the operatorat least partly based on the modified feedback threshold.
 44. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having programinstructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause asystem to perform steps of determining a state of a vehicle based oninformation from sensors in a time frame; determining desired operatorbehaviors for the time frame based on vehicle information, sortieinformation and the information from sensors; determining whether one ormore of predetermined behavior categories has occurred or is occurring;assessing an operator's performance based on the state of the vehicle inthe time frame, and providing a feedback to the operator of the vehiclebased on the determined one or more of predetermined behavior categoriesand the assessment.
 45. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium according to claim 44, wherein the determination of the operatorbehaviors is real-time.
 46. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium according to claim 44, wherein the determination whether one ormore of predetermined behavior categories has occurred or is occurringis real-time.
 47. The non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumaccording to claim 44, wherein the predetermined behavior categoriesinclude at least of one of high-idle, excessive idle, progressiveshifting, speeding, hard-braking, hard-acceleration and unsafe maneuver.48. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according toclaim 44, further comprising comparing the operator's performance withhistorical operator's performance.
 49. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 44, wherein thefeedback provided to the operator includes operator cueing.
 50. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 44,wherein if it is determined that the operator cueing is ignored by theoperator, an alert is generated and sent to a remote location.
 51. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 48,wherein the steps further comprise: modifying an operator feedbackthreshold based on the result of the comparison, and and providing thefeedback to the operator at least partly based on the modified feedbackthreshold.